Locked inside an Hermès bathroom: Zarna Garg’s Berlin ordeal goes viral

Indian-American comedian Zarna Garg spent roughly 80 minutes trapped inside a bathroom at the Hermès flagship on Berlin's Kurfürstendamm after the restroom's sliding door jammed shut, turning a routine shopping stop into what she later called a ‘Shakespearean tragedy’.

Zarna Garg says she was trapped inside the Hermès bathroom for 80 minutes

Zarna, who is currently touring Europe with her stand-up hour Million-Dollar Excuses, was in Berlin ahead of an August 21 show at the Punch Line Club when the incident occurred. According to the account she posted on Instagram, she had just used the restroom when she found the sliding door wouldn't budge, leaving her locked inside while her children and team waited on the other side.

True to her comedic instincts, Zarna initially treated the mishap as material. She and her team began filming, with the comedian passing the time by folding paper towels into an origami village and playing guessing games about how many she was holding. At one point she riffed on the irony of getting stuck at a brand famous for its exacting standards.

Zarna alleges that store staff first attempted to force the door open themselves rather than immediately calling the fire department, and that her children and team were left to watch the drama unfold with no reassurance from anyone at Hermès. She also took aim at the door's construction, describing it as a “cheap, flimsy piece of plywood” that she claims violated fire code.

Zarna says she was ultimately freed after Berlin firefighters arrived with specialised tools to open the door. Once out, she says a store associate offered her a bottle of champagne — which she and her team turned down — but that no apology or explanation followed.

The comedian, who has said she also works as a lawyer, noted she understood why the company might stay quiet on legal advice, but said that didn't make the experience feel any less unsettling. Hermès had not publicly responded to her allegations as of the time of this report.

The video has since racked up well over a million views online, with fans and fellow comedians weighing in on the store's handling of the situation.

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